1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video processing apparatus for receiving video content constituted by video captured at a plurality of viewpoint positions, and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, research and development into delivery technologies for various video content has been carried out as a result of the growth in broadcasting technologies such as digital television broadcasting.
With delivery technologies for multi-viewpoint video, which is also known as multi-angle broadcasting, a user is able to view video content from a desired viewpoint as a result of distributing multiplexed video captured at a plurality of positions for a single video content. Research is also being conducted into “arbitrary viewpoint video” technology that utilizes video captured at a plurality of positions included in multi-viewpoint video. Arbitrary viewpoint video technology involves generating video of a viewpoint at a position that has not actually been captured, from video captured at a plurality of positions included in multi-viewpoint video, and utilization in video content such as live broadcasts of sporting events is under consideration. Utilizing this arbitrary viewpoint video technology enables the user to be provided with an immersive feeling as though he or she was actually moving around inside the space of the video content while viewing. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-150747, in order to seamlessly realize switching of viewpoints when playback is switched from normal broadcast video to arbitrary viewpoint video, discloses a technique in which information on the viewpoint selected when switching to arbitrary viewpoint video is controlled in accordance with switching from the viewpoint of normal broadcast video.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-088017 discloses a technique relating to viewpoint switching in the case of receiving a program (video content) in which timeslots during which viewpoint switching is available are interspersed with timeslots during which viewpoint switching is not available. Specifically, with Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-088017, information on a viewpoint that a user has switched to in a timeslot during which viewpoint switching is available is stored, and when a timeslot during which viewpoint switching is available arrives again after a timeslot during which viewpoint switching is not available, switching is performed to the stored viewpoint of the program.
With the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-088017, storing information on a viewpoint enables the viewpoint to be represented in the same program. However, a viewpoint selected in one program cannot be represented in another program having similar content. Thus, even in the case where a user views programs having similar content, the user needs to perform troublesome operations in order to set a desired viewpoint position every time a program is viewed.